Olympic Champion Praising the Lord

On a recent News Update from LoveWorld USA TV, a segment aired about Olympic players and their devotion to God. Faith in life is all about incorporation Him into all aspects of life and understand that your success is thanks to the Lord. Pastor Chris Oyakhilomefrequently talks about ways we as believers can make sure we don’t take the credit for Christ’s work. If we let our faith lead us if life, the sky is the limit. This amazing Olympic bobsledder is just one example of how God is looking after us.

American Elena Meyers-Tayler begins her quest to upgrade her women’s bobsled silver medal from Sochi. A six-time world championship medalist Meyers-Tayler says she’ll compete and do her best, but her motivation is not to simply win medals and achieve success, but to honor the one who created her.

“In the end of the day, I’m in this sport to glorify God if that means I come in the last place or I win the gold medal that’s what I’m going to do. One of the big reasons I was put in bobsled is to help people not only reach their goals but to come to Christ. God put me here for a specific reason and I don’t think it’s just to win medals” (Elena Meyers-Tayler).

Meyers-Tayler is married to a fellow bobsledder, Nick Tayler. The couple met at a Bible study in upstate New York in 2011where they were also baptized together. Nick and Elena are unique because they do not only have a life together and spend life as husband and wife but they are also in competition. The couple also made history together in 2015, when Elena became the first American women to pilot a four-man bobsled with her husband as her break-man in an international men’s competition. She won the gold at the world championships becoming the first American women to accomplish such a feat. Yet Elena still struggles with gaining acceptance as a woman in her sport.

“I came off winning a silver medal and I still had guys asking me if I could even drive a sled. Was I even any good. So for me, I really wanted to take on the four-man disciple to compete with and against the guys in order to show that women can do anything a man can do” (Elena Meyers-Tayler).

Meyers and Canadian Kaillie Humphries have been leading the calls for more equality in sport, but despite these advances, the IOC (International Olympics Committee) has resisted including a four-woman bobsled competition in the Olympics schedule.